Hands and Eyes On The Oculus Rift Virtual Reality System

A year ago at PAX Prime 2012, the Oculus Rift was a fusion of electronics, barely more than an idea and literally held together with duct tape. Even then it delivered an impressive demo running a VR-optimized, playable version Id Software’s Doom 3. What a difference a year makes.

This year PAX Prime 2013 Oculus VR had an entire booth and a dozen stations for press and fans to check out the latest generation of the Oculus Rift technology. And clearly enthusiasm and excitement for the Oculus Rift is exploding. The line to try them was densely packed for the entirety of the show.

The tape is gone and the Oculus Rift looks much closer to a final, polished product. It’s sporting a better screen than its predecessor and now offers a full 1080p VR experience, but otherwise what’s under the hood is still likely to remain unchanged. “This still isn’t the final hardware of course, but we’re getting much closer,” Nate Mitchell, Oculus VR’s VP of Product (and my Oculus Rift tour guide) explains...